- Companies
- Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne Lidar Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Velodyne Lidar was acquired by Ouster for $600M in November 2022, a 13.4x multiple on $45M of revenue.
Velodyne Lidar revenue at acquisition
$45M
Last twelve months · Nov 2022
Velodyne Lidar revenue multiple at acquisition
13.4x
EV/Revenue · Nov 2022
Cumulative funding Velodyne Lidar raised
$225M
across 3 funding rounds
About Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne Lidar is a San Jose-headquartered manufacturer of high-performance lidar sensors for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and smart infrastructure. The company produces 3D solid-state and mechanical spinning lidars like Puck and Ultra series with ranges up to 300 meters and 360-degree views. Velodyne supplies solutions for ADAS, delivery drones, industrial automation, and security applications globally.
Founded
1983
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Revenue
$45M (Nov 2022)
Valuation
$2B (Aug 2016)
Velodyne Lidar Acquisition
Velodyne Lidar was acquired by Ouster for $600M on 7 November 2022.
The acquisition price implies a 13.4x revenue multiple on $45M of revenue.
Before the acquisition Velodyne Lidar had raised $225M across 3 funding rounds.
Ouster and Velodyne Lidar, both lidar sensor developers, announced a merger of equals on November 4, 2022, structured as an all-stock transaction where Velodyne shareholders receive 0.8204 Ouster shares, resulting in each holding 50% of the combined entity. The deal, approved by shareholders, closed on February 10, 2023, with Ouster CEO Angus Pacala leading the new company and Velodyne CEO Ted Tewksbury as executive board chairman. The merger aims to combine complementary customer bases, patent portfolios, and distribution networks to accelerate lidar adoption in automotive, industrial, and smart infrastructure markets amid industry consolidation. The transaction provides a strong financial position with $335-355 million in combined cash as of Q3 2022 and targets at least $75 million in annualized cost synergies within nine months post-close by eliminating redundancies. Velodyne had faced challenges including revenue decline from $13.1 million in Q3 2021 to $9.6 million in Q3 2022 and a $41.5 million net loss, while Ouster reported $41 million full-year 2022 revenue with 27% gross margins. Post-merger, the company offers expanded hardware including Velodyne sensors and software like BlueCity.ai for intelligent transportation. This consolidation reflects broader lidar sector trends driven by SPAC market cooling, supply chain issues, and slower-than-expected autonomous vehicle adoption, positioning the combined entity for scale, profitability, and growth in diverse end-markets.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Nov 2022 | Strategic M&A | $600M | 13.4x |
Velodyne Lidar Valuation
Velodyne Lidar is currently valued at $2B, based on its strategic investment round in August 2016.
The $150M round was led by Baidu and Ford.
Velodyne Lidar valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2016 | Strategic investment | $2B |
Velodyne Lidar Funding History
Velodyne Lidar has raised a total of $225M across 3 funding rounds.
Velodyne Lidar's first fundraising round was a $150M strategic investment round in August 2016. The most recent completed round was a $50M strategic investment round in October 2019.
Velodyne Lidar funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2019 | Strategic investment | Hyundai Mobis (lead) | $50M | - | Velodyne Lidar, a Silicon Valley-based pioneer in lidar sensors for autonomous vehicles, partnered with Hyundai Mobis in October 2019 to develop and mass-produce Level 3 autonomous driving lidar systems. Hyundai Mobis invested $50 million in Velodyne to strengthen collaboration, integrating Velodyne's high-performance lidar sensors with Mobis's cognitive software for environmental data processing. The partnership aimed to commercialize the system starting in Asia in 2021, expanding to North America and Europe, completing Mobis's sensor lineup for advanced autonomous driving. This investment was part of Velodyne's broader funding history, totaling $182.5 million across nine rounds by 2020, with Hyundai Mobis as a key strategic investor. Velodyne held the largest share in the global lidar market, known for its 'gold standard' sensors used in prototyping and R&D, though noted for high costs limiting series production scalability. Prior to this, Nikon invested $25 million in December 2018. Financially, Velodyne reported over $100 million in revenue for fiscal year 2019, aligning with the timing of the Hyundai Mobis round. |
| Dec 2018 | Strategic investment | Nikon | $25M | - | Velodyne Lidar, a California-based developer and manufacturer of LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles, robotics, mapping, security, shuttles, drones, and roadway safety, received a $25 million investment from Nikon Corporation on December 21, 2018. The investment supports a multifaceted business alliance combining Nikon's optical and precision technologies with Velodyne's LiDAR expertise to accelerate technology development and manufacturing for mass production. Velodyne, founded in 2015 with approximately 550 employees and prior venture backing including $150 million in 2016 from investors like Ford and Baidu, positions itself as an early leader in automotive LiDAR with puck-shaped sensors used in self-driving vehicle prototypes by major car firms. The Nikon partnership aims to advance Velodyne's timeline for global market deployment in autonomous and advanced safety applications. Velodyne's sensors target diverse applications beyond automotive, including geographical mapping, logistics, and unmanned aerial vehicles, leveraging higher power at longer wavelengths to address challenges like water absorption. Nikon, a century-old optics leader, joins Velodyne's network of alliances in the autonomous vehicle industry, with CEO David Hall noting the evolution from human to computer vision technologies. |
| Aug 2016 | Strategic investment | Baidu (lead); Ford (lead) | $150M | $2B | Velodyne LiDAR received a combined $150 million minority investment from Ford Motor Company and Baidu in August 2016, as announced on August 16, 2016. The capital was designated for expanding design and production of automotive LiDAR sensors, reducing unit costs, scaling manufacturing operations, and advancing research and development efforts. The company planned to double its workforce from over 200 employees to approximately 400 within 12 to 18 months following the investment. Velodyne had been developing LiDAR technology since 2005, transitioning from its original business manufacturing premium audio equipment. By the time of this investment, the company had established itself as a leading supplier of solid-state hybrid LiDAR sensors, with a track record of more than a decade collaborating with Ford on autonomous driving research and development. Ford had publicly committed to using Velodyne's Solid-State Hybrid Ultra PUCK Auto as a key component of its autonomous vehicle strategy and announced plans to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles equipped with the company's LiDAR sensors for urban car-sharing by 2021. Baidu's participation in the round reflected its strategic focus on autonomous driving software and systems, with the investment intended to strengthen its position in the Chinese automotive market. The investment also resulted in two independent automotive industry executives joining Velodyne's board of directors. At the time of the investment, Velodyne was working with approximately 10 major automakers and multiple technology companies globally, positioning it at the center of autonomous vehicle sensor development. |
Who has invested in Velodyne Lidar?
4 investors have backed Velodyne Lidar across its funding rounds, including Baidu, Ford, Nikon and Hyundai Mobis.
Lead investors include Hyundai Mobis, Baidu and Ford.
Velodyne Lidar Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Participant | Dec 2018 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Aug 2016 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Velodyne Lidar
Velodyne Lidar has acquired 2 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Velodyne Lidar was on October 4th 2022. Velodyne Lidar acquired Bluecity.ai for $12M.
Latest Acquisitions by Velodyne Lidar
| Description | Bluecity.ai is a Montréal, Quebec-based developer of AI and LiDAR systems for intelligent transport. Founded in 2018, it supplies real-time traffic data to reduce accidents, emissions, and congestion for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. The company's sensors enhance urban mobility in street safety applications worldwide. | - |
| HQ Country | ||
| HQ City | Montreal | - |
| Deal Date | 4 Oct 2022 | 23 Jul 2019 |
| Valuation | $12M | $3M |
| EV/Revenue | ||
| EV/EBITDA | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Velodyne Lidar acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | ||
Velodyne Lidar Competitors
Velodyne Lidar competitors include listed companies like People & Technology and Aeva, and private ones like proteanTecs, Echodyne, Tive and Tractian.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $542M | $77M | $485M | 1.2x | ||
| Publicly listed | $18M | ($139M) | $1.1B | 35.6x | ||
| Private | $60M | - | $600M | 10.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $528M | - | ||
| Private | $25M | - | $500M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $720M | - |
Velodyne Lidar Public Comps
Velodyne Lidar is no longer listed, but its public comps include Yuil Robotics, First Sensor, Intelligo Technology, Gemtek Technology, CE Info Systems, Sercomm, LightPath Technologies, Ependion, People & Technology and Optex Group Co.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $27M | ($16M) | 21.9x | - | (35.8x) | - | |||
| $122M | $3M | 5.3x | - | 217.2x | - | |||
| $50M | $20M | 8.4x | 8.4x | 20.8x | - | |||
| $518M | $17M | 0.9x | - | 26.8x | - | |||
| $49M | $20M | 9.6x | 8.7x | 23.3x | 23.5x | |||
| $1.7B | $84M | 0.5x | 0.4x | 10.0x | 8.9x | |||
| $72M | ($15M) | 8.9x | 8.0x | (41.8x) | 263.8x | |||
| $228M | $64M | 2.4x | 2.1x | 8.6x | 10.2x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Velodyne Lidar competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Velodyne Lidar
| When was Velodyne Lidar founded? | Velodyne Lidar was founded in 1983. |
| Where is Velodyne Lidar headquartered? | Velodyne Lidar is headquartered in San Jose, CA, United States. |
| Is Velodyne Lidar publicly listed? | No, Velodyne Lidar was acquired by Ouster in November 2022. |
| Who acquired Velodyne Lidar? | Velodyne Lidar was acquired by Ouster in November 2022. |
| How much was Velodyne Lidar acquired for? | Velodyne Lidar was acquired for $600M in November 2022, a 13.4x revenue multiple. |
| What is Velodyne Lidar's valuation? | Velodyne Lidar was last valued at $2B in its strategic investment round in August 2016. |
| How much funding has Velodyne Lidar raised? | Velodyne Lidar has raised $225M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was Velodyne Lidar's last funding round? | Velodyne Lidar's last funding round was a $50M strategic investment round in October 2019, led by Hyundai Mobis. |
| Who are Velodyne Lidar's investors? | Velodyne Lidar's investors include Nikon, Baidu, Hyundai Mobis and Ford. |
| Which companies are comparable to Velodyne Lidar? | Companies comparable to Velodyne Lidar include People & Technology, Aeva, proteanTecs, Echodyne, Tive and Tractian. |
| How many companies has Velodyne Lidar acquired? | Velodyne Lidar has acquired 2 companies, including Bluecity.ai and Mapper.ai. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Velodyne Lidar? | The $12M acquisition of Bluecity.ai in October 2022 is the largest acquisition Velodyne Lidar has made to date. |
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